Third Front must be viable alternative to UPA, NDA: CPI(M)

Hyderabad, Mar 5 (UNI) Communist Party of India (Marxist) Andhra Pradesh Secretary B V Raghavulu today claimed that the possibility of a Third Front' raised by TDP Supremo N Chandrababu Naidu and Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav did not have a broad-based policy to emerge as an alternative force to the ''existing fronts'' at the Centre.

Talking to newspersons here, Mr Raghavulu said the CPI(M) would support an alternative front only if it was a viable alternative to the United Progressive Front and National Democratic Alliance.

He said the possibility of the Third Front raised by Mr Naidu and Mr Yadav did not appear to be the real alternative.

The policies of the Front discussed by Mr Naidu and Mr Yadav did not clearly state the public policy and their stands over public issues properly, he charged.

Referring to the welfare of tribals in the state, Mr Raghavulu said that on March 9, CPI(M) was organising a Chalo Hyderabad' stir to demand justice to tribals who were affected by the development works taken up by the state government.

He said the CPI(M) was also demanding hike in the budget allocation for tribals and the implementation of the rule wherein 810 villages of the state should be merged into Scheduled areas.

This rule was being implemented in other states, he added.

The senior CPI(M) leader said the party had also been forcing the government to create a self-sufficient tribal district in the state.

He said the state government had allocated Rs 10,000 crore for the irrigation sector. ''As per rules, 23 per cent of funds of any allocation should be utilised for development of SC, STs.

But in the present scenario this was not being done. ''We also demand the state government to implement this,'' he added.

Mr Raghavulu said that CPI(M) was strongly opposed to the state government's agreement with Jindal group for setting up their firm in Visakhapatnam.

Asked about some landlords trying to oppose the construction of dams in the state claiming their lands were being affected, Mr Raghavulu said if that was true, the state government should arrest those landlords.

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